Chelsea transfer policy sees Maresca break core tradition

Suraj Radia

• 22 Aug 2024 22:05 BST
• 4 min read

For the first time in 51 games, Chelsea have fielded a line-up without an academy representative, perhaps fittingly ending the streak during another transformative summer for Enzo Maresca’s side.

The streak began during Frank Lampard’s caretaker stint in charge of Chelsea at the end of the 2022/23 season with the Blues fielding the likes of Trevoh Chalobah, Trevoh Chalobah and Mason Mount.

However all three of those players have since been sold on or exiled, along with the likes of Lewis Hall, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Callum Hudson-Odoi as Chelsea pivoted to utilising their academy for profit rather than representing the club.

READ MORE: Chelsea’s 10 most expensive transfers of all time

The decisions have left just Reece James and Levi Colwill as Chelsea’s only senior academy players in Maresca’s first team squad, neither of whom were involved in the club’s Europa Conference League play-off against Servette.

Having seen Lampard turn to the academy during his first spell in charge during Chelsea’s transfer ban in 2019, the BlueCo owners have used those same graduates to fund their extravagant spending.

But with only two surviving senior members of the academy culling, the failure to incorporate the next generation of Cobham talent could backfire on Chelsea and leave their reputation in further tatters.

Chelsea selling their soul for PSR

Much has been made of Chelsea’s spending since the Clearlake takeover in 2022, with Todd Boehly’s ownership spending nearly double the next highest spenders in world football, with €1.34 billion splashed out compared to Paris Saint-Germain’s €771.4m.

While the revenue from their sales has counteracted a large portion of the outlay, Chelsea have chosen to cash in on academy players in particular due to the ‘pure profit’ they represent on the club’s books.

It has led to situations such as Chalobah, having been at the club since the age of eight, being stripped of his squad number and told to train alone in order to force him out of the club despite Chelsea’s owners handing him a six-year contract in 2022.

READ MORE: Premier League summer transfers 2024: All the Done Deals

Such drastic measures is largely due to Chelsea’s needs to ensure their PSR commitments are met and for the club to continue their limitless transfer business.

But it has left Chelsea without the same level of academy representation and, to some supporters, lacking the soul that players such as Gallagher and Mount embodied.

Chelsea’s supremos remain committed to their vision and will hope that the likes of Alfie Gilchrist and Tyrique George can eventually become first team regulars.

However, it is also clear that Chelsea would not hesitate to sell those youngsters for the right price and bringing in foreign talent, also clogging the pathway to boyhood Blues’ fans emulating the likes of John Terry to become club legends.

Chelsea’s identity as one of the most fruitful academies in the modern era may only end up decorating spreadsheets rather than the halls of Cobham and there appears to be no desire from the owners to adhere to the club’s core values much longer.